He Wore Scarlet Begonias
by mamamu-yan
Summary: Red is a talented teacher; but nothing more. Blue is a single father raising a special needs child; but often forgets he's there. All they need is each other, and you got a painfully beautiful love story right there. BluexRed, yaoi, rated T for language and sexual content. Rating will be raised to M later in the story. (sorry, the song currently playing was "Scarlet Begonias"...)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: ahahaha, look! an actual chapter long fanfic that will be revised and planned out with a reAL PLOT ZOMG !**

**anyway; this was an idea that sprang in my mind because for some complicated reason that i don't need to get into, i have to take the special ed bus for medical reasons, which means i deal with these students and all their...crazy adventures LOL i love them dearly-they were obviously inspirational enough that i had to do this story...**

**the original format of this story was a roleplay between me and my friend kelly, also known as ketgirl1992 ;D she is a teacher, and also works with these types of students (tho they're not high schoolers; they're small kindergardners) but along with my research, and her wide knowledge of these disorders and behaviors, we tried to make this story as accruate as possible when we try to portray an autistic student or someone with pdd-nos...i think that's what it's called? i'd like to make it clear that we're in no way trying to insult special education students...just merely writing about them for the sake of fanfiction! and if anything seems off about the way they're portrayed (or anything about the writing!) please read and review; we'd be happy to hear what you have to say C:**

**now this story is still a work and preogress-the two of us still have to rp most of the plot in order to get it all worked out and stuff, so i can't promise for a constant updates...plus i have to copy and paste from our skype convos, delete username/time info and revise our writing to make it more fluent and legible.**

**'ight i'm getting sick of this long author's note so PLEASE! enjoy but ignore the crappy title~**

**We do not own Legend of Zelda, or any of the characters BUT our OC. We are writing this for entertainment. SPANKS! C8**

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The first day of school. It smells like freshly coated paint and waxed floors, although the walls are bare and a blinding white color. Teachers are greeting each other after a long summer break which helped rejuvenate their high spirits for the new school year before they would start to deteriorate by the time it's Christmas Break. The adults checked into every classroom to socialize with their co workers about where they went on vacation or how their child one a sports competition, all while ignoring the petite blonde man that shuffled through the hallways with a huge stack of folders, files and papers supported by two thin arms. He whispered to himself, conscious of not dropping his work, while ignoring the skeptical looks of his fellow teachers.

He was the oddball teacher; the young boy with fair, neatly brushed hair that folded perfectly around his soft face and rosy cheeks and occasionally bounced with each step he took, wide eyes that could easily pass as those of a kindergartner, and simple attire. He seemed normal enough, but by the way he is somehow isolated from his fellow peers and is overly enthusiastic about his job...it was an attitude not commonly shared among teachers and advisers. He knew he was judged. But they didn't know that he knew.

The young managed to push open his classroom door by pressing his hip down on the handle and using his body weight to push it wide open, a few teachers eying him down the hallway until they continued on with their own conversations.

Red sighed as he walked into the tiny classroom. It only had twelve seats but that was enough for him. He looked around and observed the dark ashy, slate colors. It wouldn't take long for him to ask the children to create their own artwork to give this classroom a bit more color; in about 8 minutes as his wristwatch says. The young man smiled as he sat down at his desk and grabbed the papers for his introduction lesson and he smiled at the door, waiting with patient eagerness for the children to come in.

Even though this was his second year at this high school, Red wasn't exactly "accepted" by the veterans of the previous years. It could simply be because of their jealousy, the fact that Red barely stepped out of college, a fresh masters degree in hand before landing a stable job so quickly. Or the praise he received last year by the parents or guardians of the graduating class that gave him the standing as one of the most influential teachers the school has ever had. There would be no surprised if Red earned teacher of the year any day now.

Believe it or not, teachers could be outcasts too.

But Red's job was to assist the children who aren't fully developed and need extra help and attention in order for them to succeed-that's the oath he took himself throughout college while learning to become a special education teacher, and he was sticking to it. Despite the praise and success he received last year, it was an overall dull first experience when focusing on the daily routine, which never seemed to change. Everyone was well behaved and he has never gotten itnto trouble with the other teachers.

Red's lips curled into a smile as he rearranged some personal belongings on his desk that stood proudly in the front of the little room.

"You got this, Red. Don't be nervous...everything will be okay."

This will be an excellent year, he could feel it in his gut. Something good will come along and he won't regret it. Whatever it may be...

The minute hand was past the 12 on the large clock above the doorway, and Red could already hear the mobs of children piling into the school and shouting off the walls of the hallways as they went to their lockers. Gradually, the children Red were waiting for, his students started filing in; the children from last year, flinging their arms around Red, so overjoyed to see him, or others being painfully shy, the new ones, refusing to make eye contact with their pupils.

"Mr. Red!" The boys and girls exclaimed in delight. "We've missed you!"

He recognized every beaming face that approached him, every happy laugh that entered the room. Red couldn't help but laugh and hug them back. It was all so contagious that it was making Red's heart flutter with utter joy when the children cheered at the sight of him. Except one boy. He stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the group of children who were exploring the classroom. That mop of dirty blonde hair shielded his eyes, as well as the thick spectacles resting on the tip of his nose and over sized sports jersey were easy to pick out of a crowd, but Red didn't falter with his welcoming smile towards the boy. He must be a new student.

After all the excitement of the first fifteen minutes of preparation time, Red smiled a huge, bright grin as he motioned the children to sit down. With the help of the two teacher aids in the classroom, who came along with the children, they periodically sat down at their own pace and eventually averted their attention to the front of the room, with a few occasional glances at other children, but his hand claps helped win their undivided attention within a few seconds. Red smiled to himself, then flashed his grin across the room, his hands folded happily in front of his chest as he began his lecture.

"Good morning, children! Welcome to the first day of classes! For the newer kids around here; my name is Red and I'll be your coach this year and maybe for more years to come! And for the older kids; welcome back. It's so nice to see you all again. Um, I hope you all had a great summer!"

Red gave a reassuring smile to the quieter kids of the class, which he easily spotted, but again, he quickly noticed that same dirty blonde boy with glasses sitting in the back, who was trying everything not make eye-contact with him. But that was okay, he would give him time.

While the shy boy squirmed in his seat and bowed his head down to look at his lap, the other children let out a chorus of 'hello Mr. Red' 's or any other welcoming jeers. The two teacher aids at either corner of the room would rush over to some of the children to help calm them down if they got too out of hand.

Red giggled and clapped his hands again to quiet them down. "Alright, kids! I want this to be a fun first lesson where we can all get to meet each other and everything, and since I know you guys are probably tired after the summer, I brought some special things with me..." He took the opportunity to swiftly move over to his bag hidden behind his desk and dumped the contents on the clean surface. There was an array of paper, paint and pencils in all kinds of colors and qualities; enough to momentarily dazzle the children. Reason number 153 why Red was such an outstanding teacher: he always gets the best quality supplies for his students.

"I don't know about you, but I think this classroom is a little dreary, so please-," he held his outstretched hand towards the art supplies, "-grab something to your liking and start coloring up some nice pictures for this place and get to know each other in the meantime. Have fun and loosen up!"

Red hopped on his toes to show his enthusiasm for the children, who were getting restless and ignored the dismissive look of the aids. "I'll come by your tables one by one to meet up with each and everyone of you. So, please, enjoy yourself." Red smiled his bright smile as he pointed to the first child as an order to go grab their supplies.

The second Red gave the signal to that single child, a handful of other kids shot up from their chairs and started crowding around Red's desk, resulting in the aids to hurry over to the front to keep them in order and from shoving each other. Red began to laugh at the display and quickly intervened to assist the other teachers. Some kids grabbed anything they could get their hands on and darted back to their seats, but some, however, were being more picky and thoughtful with their choices and took longer to gather their supplies. The young boy sitting in the back was the slowest, and therefore, last to get up from his seat, scuffling towards Red's desk and carefully choosing his favorite color markers and paper. He took what he needed and quickly headed back to his desk, as Red watched the whole process from the side of the room.

The boy hardly drew; he spent more time organizing the diverse markers in size order than thinking of what picture he wanted to do. Red assumed he already forgot what the assignment was. Soon, he began picking up the markers in order of color and started to scribble nonsense with enough pressure to rip a hole through the paper. However, Red held his comments to himself and began making his way around the room, keeping his full attention on the child in front of him at that moment.

"You got a new puppy! How cute! Girl or Boy?"

"It's a boy! And...and guess what his name is?"

"Hmm. Is it Red?"

"No silly! It's Spike!"

"Oh! What a perfect name! Why don't you draw him for me and I'll put it up on the wall, okay?"

Red went by every single desk; personally greeting the new students and welcoming back the children from last year, all the while making mental notes in his head as he neared that quiet boy, and when he did, he mustered the friendliest smile, trying not to intimidate him in the process.

"Hello there! And who are you?"

The boy peeked up over his glasses and looked at Red's shirt, then back down to his lap, loosing interest in the markers.

"Ethan."

Red smiled and crouched down next to him as he noted the drawing the boy was making. "Nice to meet you, Ethan. Are you looking forward to your first year here?"

He began kicking his legs and playing with his fingers in a random pattern. "No," he said flatly and frowned, still not looking up.

Red looked sadly at the boy. "How come? Do you want to tell me why or don't you want to talk about it today?"

"No!" Ethan shouted, attracting the attention of the other children who were quietly drawing at their desks.

Red didn't react at the small outburst. He just smiled reassuringly at the young boy and stood up again to walk back to his place in the front of the room. "That's alright, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I just want you to know that I'm sure you'll enjoy it here and if you want to talk about something or have any questions, please don't hesitate to visit me, okay?" With that Red, walked back to his desk with a small wave to say goodbye to Ethan and began writing down the rest of his observations once he sat down. Ethan didn't say a word.

Throughout the day, Ethan would distant himself from the other children, even if they were the ones to approach him and introduce themselves. He never raised his hand to answer a question, and barely ate his lunch. And he always had his eyes down casted to avoid looking at anybody else. At the end of the day, the children were all gathered together in a group, waiting near the back doors of the school waiting for their buses. Ethan shoved his way through the children so he could be the only one to sit on the bench, clutching his bag to his chest, his head bowed once again. The boy's actions ached poor Red's heart, so much it would show on his face, resulting in one of the aids, or even children, to question him. All the other children were fine and well behaved.

This boy, though. Him in particular concerned Red, and was on his mind all day from the drive home to his apartment complex a few towns over. The young man was greeted by his two pet cats, both well groomed as they rubbed past his ankles, welcoming him home. He smiled down at his "roommates" and heated up a hastily made dinner from the night before, although barely touching it, as his mind was constantly racing with thoughts that never seemed to settle. It wasn't until he put himself to bed was he able to calm his heavy body after an exhausting first day. And hardly anything happened.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The first week of school has passed. So far Red got along pretty well with all the children and some were even showing slight improvement; even though it has only been a week. By Friday , Red was filled with joy when he noticed this progression, and beamed as he waved the children off to their next class, with a smile directed towards every individual child goodbye as he waited for the last child to approach the door, which was Ethan. From day one, Ethan has intrigued Red towards more than just plain curiosity. So far all the children have progressed, even only slightly. But he hasn't at all. Not that Red minded, of course! Some children needed more space and needed more time to improve and he was never one to push that idea! But he was beginning to worry at the slight rude tone the child would give him at the simplest questions, even with the calmest smiled on Red's innocent features.

"Hey Ethan, can we talk for a minute?" Red asked softly with a smile as he closed the door before the child could leave, not giving him much of a choice but to obey.

Fourth period just started, and the other children were going off to the gym for Physical Education class. Ethan was yet again, last to get on line, but was stopped by Red, who allowed the aids to lead the rest of the children to the gym. Getting a bit irked from the disruption in his routine, Ethan grudgingly sat back down in his chair, arms crossed, and head turned away.

Red grabbed a chair as he sat down next to Ethan at his tiny desk. "Hey, Ethan? How are you feeling? I noticed today you were quieter than usual. Have you slept well?" Red tried to make small talk with the boy to ease him with both of his hands prompted formally on his lap, leaning in and awaiting an answer.

A few seconds pass before Ethan began to move his hands in front of him, trying to articulate a reply while conveying his feelings through his hand movements. "No...yes...sorta."

"Well, sorta is good enough, right? Did you dream about anything?" Red asked nicely as he began pouring a cup of tea from his crimson travel mug which he reached over to grab from his desk. It was his off period, after all. "Would you like a cup as well, Ethan?"

Ethan thought of the question but didn't answer. He instead started pointing towards his lunchbox in his cubby located underneath the windows, and began grunting with each eager point of his finger, and began groaning every moment he didn't have his lunch in front of him.

Red noted Ethan's behavior. "If you want you can eat lunch, if you don't mind me joining." He smiled sweetly a the boy.

"Mm!" Ethan began to squirm in his seat and pointed more frantically at his lunchbox.

Red nodded, giving him a stern look. "You can grab it yourself."

Ethan kicked back his chair and ran over to his storage cubby, taking the box and plopping back down in his seat and began taking out his food, which was very small and badly prepared-a badly cut wheat sandwich with a few slabs of turkey, a bruised apple, and a half empty crumbled water bottle.

Red noted the poor lunch, but held the grimace to himself. "Do you want some tea or fresh water, perhaps?" Red asked in a calming tone.

"No." The boy began nibbling at just the meat, pushing the bread away. "I hate crusts, I hate them." He frowned at the two pieces of bread which still had the crusts attached.

Red pouted at the bread, then at Ethan. "Well, I could get a knife and cut it for you. But wouldn't it be better to eat the crust? They're good for you!" Red smiled.

"No!" Ethan cried, his cheeks heating up in anger. "Dad knows I hate crusts. Hate them!"

"Hmm, that's not nice of daddy. Maybe he forgot?" Red walked to his desk and grabbed a knife from his bag to cut the crusts off. "So, what's your father like? Is he nice?"

Ethan still didn't want his bread, even with the crusts off, so he began picking at it like what he did with his turkey. "My dad? My dad is very tall and strong. And mean lookin'. But I don't see him everyday." He mumbled, his eyes focused on his hands that worked at picking apart his food.

Red looked at Ethan with sadness in his eyes. "Oh, does he work a lot?"

"Uh, yeah." Ethan moved on from his half eaten sandwich to his bad apple, biting it on the non bruised side. "He's angry a lot." He mumbled through his filled mouth.

Red frowned at the apple which was obviously not eatable anymore. "Hm... that's not a good thing...what about your mom?"

Ethan put the apple in his lap and started picking at the black stuff on his apple with his finger nail. "She went grocery shopping"

Red's eyebrows were raised, perplexed by his answer. "O-oh? For how long?"

He blood ran cold as Ethan solemnly answered.

"I dunno." Ethan peeled the skin of the apple and dropped it on his napkin. "She's been gone for a long time. Six years."

Red's eyes widened at that revelation. This poor child. Abandoned by his mother and a father who obviously does not have too much time to help his son going through this hard phase of his life. "That sure is a long time..." Red commented softly, biting his bottom lip in worry but slowly restoring it into his reassuring smile; more towards himself than the child.

Ethan had paused completely, just staring down at his lap. "Dad doesn't talk about Mom. He gets mad a lot." He violently wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand and grew frustrated. "Everybody is so stupid! So stupid, I can't.."

Red put his hand on Ethan's, which held the apple. "I understand how you feel that way, but saying everyone's stupid is not fair compared to other nice people in the word, don't you think, Ethan?. Do you want me to talk to your daddy?" Red softly stroked the boy's hand in a calming matter, attempting a smile.

Ethan remained still and shyly looked at the hand touching his , cautiously looking up at Red's face and his kind smile. "Dad never...he hardly comes home."

"Don't worry!" Red winked, "I'll find a way! After all, your dad probably wants to know how good you've been doing at school, right?"

"Okay." Ethan wiped his nose and stared at his lunch. "...He has off on Fridays. I think. I'm pretty sure."

"There, that sounds like a good plan!" Red stood up and made a scribble in his notebook. "I'll make a letter for you to give to your dad later, will you do that for me?"

"'Kay." Ethan then took a look around the empty classroom and jumped. "Where is everybody?!" He exclaimed.

Red laughed and double checked the clock on the wall. "They went off to gym, remember?" Biting his lip, his eyes back on the clock, Red glanced at the boy who was nearly finished with his lunch. "But...you can stay here for the rest of the period. I'll send an e-mail to your teacher. 'Kay?"

Ethan stared at his teacher, and for the first time since the first day of school, gave him a smile. A little crooked and uneasy, but a nice smile none the less.

"'Kay."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Red grumbled as he looked at the clock once again. It was decided the meeting between him, Ethan and his father was supposed to be today...45 minutes ago. Red was so nervous and scared but the man didn't even leave a note with Ethan today saying he couldn't show up today. Red pouted as even he, of all people, was feeling a little aggravated and a bit anxious. He constantly fiddled with the zipper of his fleece sweater, and found himself applying lotion to his sweaty hands every few minutes.

The sun was setting and was filtering into the classroom through the single window it had which was positioned right behind Red's desk, a little above his head. It seemed to illuminate the colors of the hand drawn pictures the children had done that decorated the once bare, white walls. Red personally loved the way the room seemed to have a mix of yellow, orange and pink hues light up the room before it would be left in complete darkness for the night. The young teacher sat back and admired the paintings, finding himself feel at ease for the first time since school ended at 2. This meeting has been wracking his brain with a wave of negative emotions, but the later it got, the more Red assumed they weren't coming; therefore, the less scared he got. He wasn't sure why he felt so nervous; it wouldn't be different from any other meeting he held with a parent. He checked the clock again. It was 5:45 on the dot, and Red officially called it a day, and sighed in relief.

The male stood up and straightened out his jacket, rubbing his hands together when he realized how chilly the room got. Before Red went to go stuff his belongings in his tote bag and lock everything up, there were droning voices from down the hallway, accompanied by loud foot steps which began approaching his door, getting louder and louder. There was murmuring and groaning not far from it, which sounded like Ethan's meek voice, and a strange, much gruffer voice, could be heard from the other side of the wooden door, startling Red.

"Ethan, go in!"

The door swung open and Ethan came stomping in with a huffed out chest and hunched shoulders, very agitated and angry, leaving the stranger to stand in the doorway.

Red's grew as he noticed the large shadow. Just like Ethan described, he was tall and...well, big. He could only make out the outline of his head, which was darkened by the shadow's of the doorway, but his lower half was apparent, and left Red's heart thundering in his throat, all previous thoughts now vanished out of fear.

'My goodness...' Red murmured under his breath before he gave the most fearless smile he could muster, forgetting his abundance of frantic thoughts and approached the man with slight optimism. "Good afternoon and thank you so much for being here on such short notice. Please sit down...do you want coffee, or tea perhaps?"

The man in the doorway stood with the sleeves of his thermal shirt rolled up, and dirty jeans, spotted with permanent oil stains and paint. His sandy blonde hair with chestnut streaks was badly brushed to the side, his bangs whipping past his eyes, with a ripped white baseball cap placed backwards on his head. His sharp eyes and hard jaw line are what caught Red's alert, searching eyes, but the man thought nothing of it. "No thanks." He deadpanned and slipped himself right past Red, taking a seat in front of the large desk next to his son. He noticed Ethan began nervously playing with his hands, so his father harshly slapped them to get him to stop. His son yelped and began to whisper a long string of curses to himself.

"How long will this thing take?" His father shot the teacher an icy glare.

Red flinched slightly at the brash treatment the father gave to his son, but smiled a small smile despite all that as he sat down behind his desk. "It's not going to be long, I assure you. I just want to talk about Ethan's progress."

"Isn't that stupid, uhh...whaddya call it? Back to school shit next week? Why am I here now?" Ethan squirmed around when his father's tone rose, but the older man crossed his arms firmly against his broad chest, glaring sternly at Red. "What did he do wrong?"

Red swallowed the lump in his throat, eyes quickly darting away from that glare. "A-Ah, well he didn't exactly do anything! I mu-must even commend him for doing exceptionally well in class despite his dyslexia! But I do worry about his Social-Emotional Progressions..." Red answered softly; trying to keep himself calm and collected with the man; although the quiver in his voice couldn't be obvious enough.

The man's eyes grew larger and his eyebrows furrowed. "Whaddya mean dyslexia? He's already autistic, there's no way he's got that...that, whatever ya call it!" He straightened himself up in his chair. "There's nothing else wrong with him. You just don't know what you're doing."

Red moistened his lips and calmed his breathing. "Well, he's not autistic. He has pdd-nos; that's not autism, but rather, in a more lighter form. I read in his file that he was diagnosed with dyslexia between seven to six years ago..." Red picked up Ethan's file from a pile of papers, while accidentally knocking over other files, and began handing them over the desk. "I thought you were informed of this, but I can show you if you want."

"I don't need to see those," The father pushed the papers back towards Red, refusing to look at them. "I know what my kid has and doesn't have. He's normal, he can't get any stupider. See!" The father nudged his son's shoulders, while Ethan continued to look down at his lap, completely quiet. "He's fine! Well behaved and all! I don't know, maybe you should re read those papers or something...so far, this visit was a complete waste of my time."

Red could feel his anger rise higher with each rude remark the man made; it infuriated him to the point where Red's hands began shaking. "Oh, well, excuse me for bothering you. I was only hoping to talk about the progressions of your sweet son. But please, you can leave now, sir. " Red stood up abruptly, marched around his desk and opened the door for the brute father and the kind Ethan.

"It was my pleasure." The man grumbled as he stood up, snapping his fingers in front of his son's face to get his attention, like some type of animal. "Ethan, get up." He ordered. Ethan groaned and followed his father out the door, frowning sourly to himself. Ethan did not speak once the whole meeting. He looked as if he was about to cry, which Red was tempted to ask about, but the fear of what could happen next held him back. Before the father shoved his son to go faster and closed the door behind him, he gave one last nasty look towards Red, who was caught by surprise with those cold eyes.

"You should probably get better at your job, if I were you. I don't want you accusing shit about my son ever again." With that, he slammed the door, and Red was left in stunned silence.

Red huffed at the man, frowning deeply. "That...that...! UGH!" He spun around on his heels and walked back to his desk, before standing there momentarily in his own fury, then lightly, but angrily, banging his fist on the top of his desk.

"How rude!"

There, he felt better.

In his mind he began picking up all the pieces. No wonder Ethan was so insecure all the time...

Okay, he'll try to help either way, with or without the father. Red only hoped Ethan would still want to open up to him and not get further away than he already was. Sighing, Red slowly resumed his packing and paused before picking up his satchel, staring out the window.

"Oh, mom and dad...this is when I need you the most." He closed his eyes and silently prayed.

Please watch over Ethan and...his father.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: just as a warning, there is a lot of use of the word "retard" towards the end; NOT because i love using that word just for shits and giggles, but because i'm trying to portray a character who doesnt care if they toss the word around. it's just for characterization...we're not in any way using the word just for the sake of using it xD thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanks!**

The next few weeks went by the same way it usually did-all the kids were having fun, but Ethan was the only one who still preferred to keep his distance away from the excitement during activities and class time. He ate his badly prepared lunch in peace and did group work by himself. There were also some days where he didn't show up to school at all. Red briefly thought this was revenge from the father, but quickly pushed that aside, but instead got more disturbing thoughts that he couldn't possibly fathom. In response to his few missed days, his grades began to drop in math, and Red noticed immediately.

Once again, lunch started like any other day, and the kids began leaving the classroom. Red looked at Ethan who began to appear even more sickly and insecure than he already was; his eye were drooping behind his thick glasses which kept sliding off and eventually remaining in place at the tip of his nose, and his outfits never looked so clean anymore. Not to mention that he wore the same sweatshirt every other day.

"Hey, Ethan? Want to keep me company again?" Red asked him with a soft smile from behind his desk.

Ethan had gotten up to follow the kids but froze in place when Red asked the question. The expression on his face said he wanted to go, but he frowned and turned around instead. "Okay." He shuffled himself back over to his desk and quietly opened up his lunchbox which he retrieved from his cubby.

Red smiled and grabbed his own lunchbox which was slightly bigger than Ethan's tiny metal one, and was filled to the rim with all types of delicious sandwiches. He put the box on Ethan's desk and sat down next to him, pulling his desk chair over. "Ahh, I am starved!"

Ethan neatly spread out his napkin and took out a broken bread roll that fell apart in his hands, with little to no turkey slices on it, and a plastic snack bag filled with crushed crackers. He shyly eyed Red's sandwiches but quickly turned and blocked his vision by placing his hand up to his temple; stuffing the roll in his mouth to find a distraction. He never bothered to respond to Red's comment

"If you want," Red started as he poured himself some strawberry milk, "...you can have a few of my sandwiches. They're delicious, if I do say so myself!" He laughed and watched Ethan's face carefully.

Ethan looked at Red, then at the sandwich, then at Red, then at the sandwich...without a word he took one of Red's sandwich's- a small but stuffed bacon lettuce and tomato on wheat bread sandwich- and began stuffing the wonderfully prepared meal into his mouth, letting out a hum of approval as he nearly finished the whole thing in the matter of seconds.

Red smiled at Ethan. "Do you like them? I made them myself." Red winked as he took a sip of his drink.

Once the sandwich was gone, Ethan was sipping his water quickly afterwards. "You're good at food. It was so very, very good." He began picking up tiny cracker crumbs. "And math is getting hard."

The remark about math caught Red off guard, who was in the middle and chewing his food, but managed to frown in interest. He waited until he swallowed to speak. "How come? Are the problems hard for you?" Red took another bite of his sandwich as he listened intently to the student.

"I don't get it!" Ethan cried and began to move around restlessly in his seat with his hands flapping as he did so, almost knocking over his drink. "There are too many numbers and signs and I hate it. I just do, I hate it. That's it."

While Red held his hand out in order to stifle his motions, he pouted in thought. "Hmm, yes, I understand that might seem confusing..." Red nodded slowly as he tapped his chin. "But, we have to try! Maybe the way I've been explaining it is difficult for you to understand. But I can try to change that." Red grinned towards the boy. "Will you help me with that?"

Ethan slowly sank down and rested his head on the desk before pushing his food away. "No. I don't like math."

Red frowned in response. "Yes, I don't like it either. These numbers get all mixed up when I think too much about it as well. But, unfortunately, we have to do it! We gotta show your dad how good you are doing in school right?"

Ethan sat up abruptly and clapped his hands together from the brilliant idea that came to his mind. "You! you can tutor me!" His eyes were wide and he was looking at Red straight on. "You're my favorite teacher too."

Red giggled into his hand. "That's a great idea! I would love to!" Red grabbed Ethan's hand and shook it. "And thank you for saying that I am your favorite teacher; I'm truly honored, Ethan." Red smiled softly as he sat back in his chair, motioning for Ethan to grab another sandwich.

"This is the best day ever." Ethan picked up another sandwich and began to eat it happily with Red laughing as they both finished their lunches together in comfortable silence.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The father wearily walked up the cracked path to his front door of his decrepit bungalow house with chipped paint, nearly collapsed off it's foundation from the terrible shape it was in; dangerous cracks on the front stoop, the concrete from the pathway pulled up from the ground in certain spots, and noticeable wooden planks nailed over a couple of broken windows. He was covered in dust and oil, the way he comes home every night after a long day at the humdrum car repair shop located in the valley of ashes. (1) Stupid job. Stupid job that he has to work long hours for to get enough money to put food on the table every day. If it weren't for that kid of his, he wouldn't be in this situation.

He approached the screen door and heard faint voices coming from far off inside as he spotted the dim light glow past the door frame which led to kitchen. Immediately alerted, he rolled up the sleeves of his flannel, threw open the door and stormed through the cluttered, small house. "Ethan! ETHAN! Who the hell is in there with-" He froze and glared in the kitchen in disbelief. "Huh?"

Red looked up from his cup of tea as he noticed the new person in the room, slightly alarmed but still managed still give him a welcoming smile. "Ah, good afternoon. I hope I'm not intruding." Red said sheepishly as bowed his head in apology.

"...No..." Blue mumbled slowly, narrowing his eyes at the smaller man sitting at the kitchen table with his son, who was intently working on his homework. "What's, uh...goin' on here?"

"We're doin maaath." Ethan droned before looking up with a proud grin and quickly went back to his workbook, scribbling down the last of his answers.

Red nodded at Ethan when Blue stared on. "That's right! Ethan has been working very hard for the past few days, so we both decided that I should tutor him so his math will get better; and don't worry about money. I am more than happy to do it as a form of extra help. That means I can also monitor his-" Red paused, careful not to mention his dyslexia. "...his language barrier."

"..." Blue frowned in distaste and turned around to open up the fridge to look for anything decent or nothing expired to drink-and when he found nothing, he moved on to a cupboard with no door and took an almost empty box of cereal. "I'll be in the other room." He stated and walked out of the room, the terrible aura Red felt from him leaving as well, letting the smaller man gradually relax.

While Red watched the kitchen exit in a worried trance, he was snapped out of it when Ethan slammed his pencil on the table. "FINISHED!"

Red clapped as he congratulated the boy. "Good job, Ethan! You did very well. Can I check it?"

Ethan, as he was scanning over his work, gasped and began to furiously erase an answer to a question. "NO WAIT!" after quickly correcting his mistake, he pushed the book towards Red. "Okay."

Red stifled a giggle and nodded towards him. "Thank you!" He grabbed his red pen from his satchel which was placed by his feet as he began checking all the answers. After about two minutes of listening to the silence of the room, and the droning ticking of the clock, Red sat back frowned down at the book. "Hmm, Ethan, I have a problem..."

The boy's joyous expression fell instantly, his glasses sliding down his nose, and Ethan stared at Red from over the rims. "What...?"

Red's grim features instantly broke out into a bright, beaming smile. "You see, I think I lost our little bet and I owe you a big chocolate bar tomorrow! You got all the questions right! Good job, Ethan!" Red laughed at Ethans's shocked face.

Ethan's face radiated with utter joy at the unexpected news. "YEAH!" He quickly jumped from his chair and ran into the living room where his father was sitting in an armchair "DAD, did you hear that? I got all the questions right! A-and I'm getting a prize to-"

"Ethan, PLEASE!" His father manged to shout over his son's outburst and scolded him instead of praising. "Quit yellin' I'm trying to rest! Finish your work. Go!" Like an owner training a dog, he snapped his finger back to the kitchen door.

Ethan blinked a few times as he grew upset, and he began to tug and pull at his hair in frustration as he marched back into the kitchen with a huff, where Red was nervously chewing on the inside of his cheek in a daze, waiting. "STUPID!"

"Now, now, Ethan. Your daddy is tired after working a long day..." he motioned for Ethan to come sit next to him again in his original seat. "You can show him during dinner, okay?"

"Dinner. There will be no dinner." Ethan growled and began pulling his hair harder and in tighter clumps. "There...there is never any dinner!"

Red began to gently pull Ethan's hands away from his hair by helping his clenched fingers slowly uncurl from the dirty knots. "Oh, I'll cook dinner tonight, don't worry. Now don't pull your hair, you're going to mess up your handsome look." He giggled.

Ethan sniffled and blinked away his tears. "You're making dinner?" He asked in shock.

Red nodded and smiled at him. "Sure! I think you deserve a well cooked meal...you can help if-"

"Sorry, your teacher has got to go now." Ethan's father came back in and tossed the box in the garbage, stuffing it in to keep it from overflowing.

"Heeeeey!" Ethan whined and kicked his legs. "WE WERE GONNA MAKE DINNER!"

"I really don't mind, I enjoy making dinners." Red immediately broke in, frantically reminding himself to stay calm and keep his voice even.

"It's not that." He grabbed the knob of the back door, that wasn't closed all the way in the first place, and held in wide open. "I just don't want you in my house anymore. I don't need you, and he certainly doesn't need you." He pointed a finger at his son which made the boy self conscious and sink down into his chair.

"...Now leave."

That sudden burning sensation that Red felt in his chest was back from when he first met this man, flaring more violently than ever. The small man scowled at the father and abruptly stood up, knocking his chair backwards.

"Listen, I don't care what you want. But I do care about what Ethan wants. You would rather want you AND your son to starve to death than to swallow your pride and let me help?"

"SHUT UP!" He bellowed, a little shaken much to Red's surprise, and noticed his son cowering from the shouting. "Ethan, go to your room. Don't come out until I say so."

Ethan began to breathe heavily but he quickly managed to stumble off the chair, run around his father down the hallway to his room.

Red mentally apologized to Ethan, taking the small opportunity to glance sadly off in the direction he left, and promised himself he would make it up to him as he had watched the boy lumber out of the room in tears. The opportunity now gown, Red menacingly resumed his glaring contest with the most stubborn man he had the misfortune to meet.

"What the hell are you trying to do?" The man prowled around Red. "Why are you getting so involved with my son? He doesn't need any help! I don't know why he's in that retard class anyway! And then you just come into my house, without my permission, and think you can just...help him, or something?!"

Red's face remained knitted into a frown as he was now spreading out all his observations; this man was obviously angry for the most pointless reasons, for he has the worst anger issues, and is only picking a fight to feel superior to this strange man whom his son is looking up to instead of his own father. Through clenched teeth, Red took a big, shaky breath, as the eyes of the prowling father bore right through his head.

"I am here because I want to help Ethan. He is a very smart boy. He's not in a retard class. He's only there because he lacks the confidence to overcome his fear of numbers and words and let him face his Dyscalculia and pdd-nos to start a life with those disabilities. And the fact that you are so acting so degrading towards your son isn't making it any easier for him! I apologize for intruding in your house. You are completely right! But it is my job as a teacher and as a HUMAN BEING to help children in need who are abandoned and mentally abused like you are doing to your poor son!"

Red took a final breath and closed his eyes as he began to calm his mind and nerves, keeping his back straight and fists clenched. Never before has he been this angry. His eyes softened towards the man once he opened them. "I am only here to help. Like I said, Ethan's a smart boy and he can do so much more...but only if you let him..."

The man trembling in front of his was ready to explode. "Don't you fucking dare tell me how to treat my kid...!" His eyes were darting in desperation, the veins in his temple and neck were being strained by the second as he began to sweat.

Red would have smirked if he had the proper confidence to pay the price of physically taunting the broken man in front of him. He has clearly gotten through to him and he was lacking evidence to back up his argument because everything this man; this small, petite, totally not intimidating man said, was true.

"No, fuck you...I didn't ask for him to be stupid, didn't ask to be stuck with him...get out of my house. Leave me alone." He was out of energy, simply drained out. Ignoring his broken and ineffective speech, the father turned away and started to stomp out of the room, only to slow down his pace and sink into his old arm chair, pressing his face into his hands and slouching over, cursing under his breath as the entire vicinity of the house grew dead silent.

Red didn't make a move towards the door. He remained standing in his spot in the kitchen, still a bit shaky from the adrenaline that over came him and scared for the possibilities that could happen if he left or stayed. Instead, he walked into the living room, looking at the man who was sitting in despair.

Red bit his bottom lip and shyly rubbed his arm as he approached the man. "I-I know you never asked for this, but...neither did Ethan..." Red gently pulled the father's hands away from his face and looked him in the eyes while he crouched down in front him, like he was Red's student. "So why don't you help your son go trough this, instead of punishing him for something he didn't do..."

"You don't understand." The man almost spat when he glare angrily at Red through his angry, wet eyes. His furrowed eyebrows began to twitch as all the muscles in his body began to give out.

"You wouldn't...just imagine lovin' a woman so much you'd do anythin' for her, just to find out that the kid she had as a result from a broken condom, is retarded. She'll say she's goin out shoppin' and she leaves you behind clueless to raise that thing..." The man inhaled deeply and hid his face behind his hands again, growling in frustration before muttering on.

"Can't believe I'm tellin' you this shit...I'm such a miserable fuck sometimes I just..." He sighed. "I wish that kid was normal."

Red repositioned himself so he sat on his knees in front of the man. "I do understand, actually...but like I said; it's not Ethan's fault. The only one who's at fault here is his mother who decided to leave you and Ethan all on your own to take care of your son, which I can imagine is quite difficult, especially if your child is diagnosed with a disability like that... but, please, understand that he is normal." Red stressed the last word, squeezing the father's knee to emphasize his point. "Pdd-nos is something he can live with perfectly. It just depends on the way you act with it. He is a normal kid, and as any normal kid. He is trying to get his father's attention, which he so desperately needs..."

The room fell silent again, besides from the soft and violent breathing coming from the two lonely figures in the dark depths of the living room. The father roughly dried his eyes with his sleeves, startling Red out of his moment of peace. "He'd want a...shitty father like me? Seems to me that someone like you deserves him more...I'm always workin', I'm always tired...I cant spend any time with him even if I wanted to."

"You are not a shitty father." Red quickly retorted back, staring at him with stern eyes. "You are working so hard to provide the best care for your son! You're already helping your son without noticing! You just made some bad decisions on how to act with him, but its never too late to try..." Red smiled softly at the man, giving a small, tentative shrug with his shoulder. "He really likes it when he gets compliments. Even that is a good start..."

"...I'll try." The father grumbled and avoided eye contact with Red, similar to how Ethan does it, but just out of sheer embarrassment. "I didn't think...I would ever get along with him. With the way he is. Maybe...yeah, maybe I can try."

Red nodded and gave him a huge, encouraging grin. "That's the spirit! You can start as I'll make you two some food...i-if you don't mind that I stay and cook, at least. I think you guys deserve it.

Blue stayed silent and bowed his head as Red stood up to leave when he didn't get an answer saying he couldn't. Right as he was about to leave the room,

"...I'm Blue, by the way."

Red turned around, surprised, but couldn't fight the tugging urge to smile on his lips. That little act of introducing himself was possibly the kindest thing that man has ever done to him yet. Just like Ethan, this man will become a process of slowly knocking down and rebuilding back up again, and Red was excited.

"My name is Red. And it's a pleasure to meet you."

Blue finally made eye contact with Red, although he didn't smile, bad at least he got to close his eyes, relax and feel relieved for the first time in years.

**(1) lmao references are always great to guess**


	3. Chapter 3

A heavy, run down pickup truck, with dried up mud splattered across its paint, slowly rolled into the school parking lot a few minutes after seven in the evening, just past twilight. Pearing out the side window, Blue's cool eyes roamed the large brick building, fingers rapidly curling and uncurling around the steering wheels as he slowly put the car into park, wincing when the tools in the back of his truck crashed around when he went over the speed bumps, Ethan all ready to jump out of his seat.

"Gosh, there's so many people. Look at all the people!" He was intently watching the small packs of people, parents and children and grandparents alike, walking in and out of the school. As Blue barely grunted his response, he put the truck in park and turned off the ignition, and simply sat there, staring at the building through the windshield. Ethan fumbled with his seat belt while Blue patiently sat there, watching his son with little interest, but was still wondering if he needed to help at all...and how would he do it. Again, he looked straight at the school, mind fixated on what he would do once he got inside...this was the last place he wanted to be at the moment, anywhere else but where he would be most criticized about his parenting. But for some odd reason, the idea of meeting with Ethan's teacher again just didn't seem so bad to him. When he pictures seeing other parents and dealing with the whiny teenagers, he was tempted to turn the car back on and speed on out of the parking lot. Thinking of getting in the classroom and standing face to face with that short little man again, whether or not they left on a bad note, subconsciously convinced Blue to slide out of his seat and follow his energetic son into the school's front doors.

The stroll down the hallway was relatively quiet, if it weren't for those mothers with sharp manicured nails and bleached hair pulled back in a pony tailed talking loudly to their moody children, and the large fathers who showed no interest on how their kids were doing, and were being scolded by the wives. Blue rolled his eyes, adjusting his hat more comfortably on his head. At least he wasn't the only one feeling that way, that's a relief. "Do you...know where your classroom is?"

Ethan copied his father by rolling his eyes, his glasses sliding off his nose in the process. "Well _duh_, I got here everyday, dad!"

Blue snorted with a twitch of a smirk, but quickly scowled to himself. Obviously. What a stupid fucking thing to ask.

"But this is where the bus drops me off! And picks me up too!" Blue followed Ethan's finger to the darkened cafeteria they were currently passing by, where the double doors led to a private parking lot located on the side of the school where the special buses arrived and departed from. He nodded, and made sure his son noticed that he paid attention.

"That's cool."

Red had sorted and laid out the various supply of workbooks and journals the students had been working on since the first day of classes, all in their appropriate spots, so the parents could see how good the children have been doing academically, as well as examining the room to observe the hands on activated they had partaken in-all which where neatly grouped together according to subject and date to satisfy Red and make everything seem sufficient. He had looked at Ethan's math workbook and quickly before the school door were officially open for parent teacher conferences, his mood brightening exceptionally. He felt an overwhelming joy for the boy who had shown so much improvement form being the awkward bored who refused to make eye contact, to the well behaved student who was still working hard o reach the top of the class... Red had never felt so proud. The thought of Ethan coming in with his father to see how well his grades are was what Red had waited for all day. The classroom would fill up with proud parents and happy children and slowly disperse before more would come in to meet Red and the AIDS, along with viewing their schoolwork on the desks and on the walls.

Ethan grabbed Blue's hand and yanked him through the crowded hallway. "My classroom is right there, see!" He pointed to a wide open door, that looked like any other of the wooden doors in the hallway...for the exception that it was decorated in elaborate pictures and posters that made it look as if it belonged in an elementary school...and knowing the teacher, it didn't surprise Blue in the slightest that this was the way it was decorated. Just as the image of the young man re entered Blue's mind-there he was, actually standing in the middle of the class room, in the center of the circular arrangement the desks were in. His cheeks were bright and rosy as he chatted with a young couple who were ready to leave, a normal clean pair of tan slacks a short sleeved shirt topped off with a maroon sweater vest to give him a professional, and strangely inviting to talk to.

Ethan darted into the room, Blue too zoned out to notice, and squeezed Red around his waist from behind, startling him. "HI!"

Red spun around around in the embrace to look down at Ethan and smiled happily before patting the boy on the head. "Why, hello Ethan! It's good to see you too..." Red's eyes shyly trailed up to see Blue standing there in the doorway of the classroom, inspecting ever part that wasn't in Red's standing range."Good evening, Blue. I hope you are doing fine?" Red walked towards the father while Ethan shuffled along with him as his hands were still securely wrapped around his teacher.

Immediately, Blue's body tensed up. He shoved his fists into his pockets, instantly feeling them douse in sweat, and he turned his head away but while keeping his expression rather collected, eyes darting back and forth from Red to the ground. "Yeah, hey. I'm fine. Nice...room." He coughed awkwardly and scratched his head, eyes more focused on his feet than the man he was suppose to be speaking to.

Red smiled at him despite the reply being very bland. "That's good to hear! And thank you, we all worked hard on it. Didn't we, Ethan?" Red looked down at Ethan with a huge smile and winked while Ethan grinned back. "Yeah."

Blue was disturbed by the flutter he felt in the pit of his stone chest when he noticed someone actually gave him a smile.

"...That's cool." He shifted on his feet and took a survey around the desks. "..Which one is yours, Ethan?"

"The one with my name on it, of course! Duh!" Blue frowned at himself again but eventually followed his bouncy son over to his desk, while his arms stretched out to emphasize the size of the folder, which wasn't all that thick compared to the others. "Wow, huge! Wanna see the poems we wrote the other day? I wrote A LOT! And teacher Red gave me a sticker, look!" He began giggling as Blue stood next to him, hands in his pockets, body slouched, and lips tugged into a smile. "Sure."

Red watched the two of them walk off together, smiling at the tiny bond that began to form between them; it was tiny and hardly noticeable, but yet it was there, and it was starting to grow. And that gave Red and warming sensation in his heart.

He gave a content sigh as he turned and walked towards the other remaining parents and children who were still lingering, gladly answering their questions as he showed each and everyone of them around. He liked having these types of evenings with the parents. He would be nervous every time to meet new faces and maybe confront old ones, but it always fascinated him whenever he could meet a parent and observe their way of how they handle their child for future reference. As he waved the last few people off and escorted them to the door, he glanced back at Ethan and Blue who were still in the room, and apparently had settled themselves down at Ethan's desk. Ethan was proudly showing off his math workbook, which he had worked so hard on, properly sitting at his desk, while Blue hunched over a small plastic chair, elbows on the desk, watching his son show off his work.

He was paying attention most of the time-MOSTLY. Blue would give the generic "good job" or "nice work" compliment on any activity Ethan received a sticker on, and grew more and more frustrated with himself when he couldn't articulate anything more encouraging to say. He never saw his son so happy. Happier than when he was with him. Blue honestly never knew that it was possible for this kid to smile so much. And to think it all happened because this teacher helped...

Blue's attention would occasionally falter, and his eyes would find their way glancing past his bangs hanging over his face to catch a glimpse of Red even if it was for two simple seconds. It wasn't hard for Red was usually usually standing at the front of the classroom, his smiling always radiating as he greeted the people that came and left. Blue focused on Red's lips and how the curved up into that smile until Ethan tugged roughly at Blue's sleeve when he noticed Blue's head was turned away.

"HEY! DAD! You're not looking!"

Having been disturbed out of his pleasant thoughts, Blue grumbled in response to Ethan's nagging and quickly snatched his arm away. "I am, quit whining!" he snapped, but the way his face screwed in distaste instantly showed his regret in the harshness of his words, but continued to sit next to his boy and watch him flip the pages of his journal.

The minute hand struck the 12, and Red checked his watch to make sure the time was right. 6 pm on the dot. He scanned the classroom and watched the people walk past his classroom, heading towards the door exit at the end of the hallway. It was surprising how smoothly the evening went, and how accomplished and proud Red felt for himself and the students- but when his eyes landed on the two figures still in the room, his heart sank, yet smiling an unenthusiastic smile as he went over to break up them up soon. "How's it going here?" Red smiled down at the father and son with his hands clasped in front of his chest.

"Dad's getting grumpy." Ethan began to cackle with laughter when Blue's shocked face instantly flared up.

"W-who says I am?!" He playfully shoved Ethan in the shoulder, who kept uncontrollably but managed to push back, all while Blue tried to sneak another glimpse of Red through the corner of his eye without either of them noticing. "But...yeah, it is late."

Red giggled in response as he watched them play-fight. "I agree. Plus, the other families are on there way home...so I think your dad must be pretty, um, tired.." Red trailed off once he made the mistake of glancing over at Blue was caught staring at him, leaving the little teacher a bit flushed and too flabbergasted to properly finish his sentence.

Blue, noticing he had been stuck in a trance, wagged his head back and forth, bringing a callos hand to come wracking his hair back, pretending he was simply overly tired while awkwardly coughing to cover up Red's mistake. "Yeah, Ethan. Lets go, c'mon..." Reaching out, he gave his son a soft pat on the head and light shove to move forward, and, while pouting, Ethan started to march out the door, but not before running back in, startling Blue, and giving Red one last hug.

"See you on Monday!"

Red laughed, returned the hug and waved Ethan off. He turned around and started heading towards his desk when he heard a small jingle behind him, followed by mumbling.

"Wait in the car."

Red gulped as his eyes began to dart across his desk, looking for something, anything, that could keep him busy or make it seem like he's distracted-of course that wouldn't help but Red was getting too anxious right now, and he wasn't sure why. None the less, Red was able to straighten himself up and turn back around, flashing his friendly smile and seeing the father standing by the open doorway, leaning his weight from one foot to the other, looking as if he wanted to say something, but he found the ground to be more interesting to look at. It was a very awkward situation when Red looked at it, but it was fortunate that Red was a naturally social person that would never leave the room quiet, or else Blue would have been standing there for hours without saying whatever he wanted to say.

"I see you guys have been getting along quite well lately..." Red began slowly, keeping his hands folded in front of him politely as he leaned back against his desk.

Blue had made sure Ethan was out the door and headed towards the exit doors before he shifted around, one hand shoved in a pants pocket, the other on the back of his neck as he rubbed it nervously, giving Red a weird lopsided smile. "Yeah...I guess so, because you helped and all...I try at least. I still don't know how to, uh..." He kept getting distracted-Red's eyes were looking right at his; result him to fumble with the right words, screw up, get angry, loose his train of thought and avert his eyes back to the ground. before they would eventually climb their way up to look into those ocean eyes again.

"...understand him...fully." He mumbled and swallowed the sentence rest of that sentence along with the lump in his throat.

Red nodded in understanding, catching the father's babbling on, but completely ignoring it "That's okay. It's not something that will be achieved in a day or week; it can take months. Just being there for him is enough and eventually you'll understand him, I am sure of it! You're a great father, Blue!" Red gave him a huge grin as he praised Blue; it sounded like too much praising in Red's mind when he repeated what he just said in his head, but it felt right.

His cheeks heated up but Blue managed to hide it with casually brushing his bangs in his face and scratching his cheek with a finger. "Aww, jeez," His voice cracked and he quickly cleared his throat, suddenly growing very warm. "Yeah..thanks, a lot, really..." He can't just say it out loud so suddenly, he already looks like an idiot just standing there with nothing to say.

Red bit his lower lip and used a hand to shove some stray hair behind his ear in an embarrassed manner. "You're welcome, Blue. I'm glad I could help..."

Ignoring the constricting pressure returning to his throat, Blue awkwardly cleared it and motioned towards the door with his thumb, avoiding eye contact with Red. "I should...probably get goin', huh? You gotta clean up...can't leave Ethan alone for long..."

Red giggled and, pushing himself off from his desk, starting walking towards the taller man. "You're right! Go to Ethan; he's probably worried and wondering where you are and all." He laughed and placed a gentle hand on Blue's tensed back, and ignored it.

"Um," Blue sighed and squeezed his eyes tightly shut, refusing to move his feet from their spots, as if they were glued to the ground. Seeing how Blue didn't budge, Red quickly examined the man's distraught face and his stiff body, immediately growing worried. "Um, i-is there something-"

He brought a sweaty hand to his face, wiped it in grievance, growling under his breath all before straightening himself up and sputtering in one quick, shaky, intimidating tone:

"G-go out with me."

Red's eyes shot wide open. A date? He should have guessed that's where he was getting at; but it was too...insane for Red to ever imagine someone asking HIM out. Sure, Blue was a handsome man and he sure was attracted to him...even though he could come off as a harsh, angry man that could leave him trembling in fear, but Red quickly noted his true self when he talked to him about Ethan, and remembered witnessing his most vulnerable state yet. This man wouldn't hurt a soul, even if he physically could, and even if he did, he probably never meant it on purpose. Oh, but he is pretty handsome...and he's Ethan's father...

He was a parent of one of his students.

"I, uh...oh my," Red stepped back from the father and held his hands to his burning cheeks.

Was it such a good idea?

He made the mistake of looking at Blue's face; he was straining the stern but calm expression, looking a bit freightened as he was now desperately searching for the answer in Red's own stressed features. He took deep, slow intakes as he stared at the ground.

"I...I-I'd.."

...Why not. Screw the consequences for once. It's just a date; if something doesn't work out, they'll just stop seeing each other.

"...Sure," Red breathed out, relaxing as his smile came back. "I would love too." He played with his fingers and shyly looked up to see Blue's reaction...

...Which was quite comical despite the pressure that was just present between the two; Red's response nearly caused Blue's jaw to drop. He was in pure shock, like he wasn't expecting Red to say yes.

"Wh...wow, y-you will?" He raised an eyebrow, his eyes still wide in disbelief.

Red giggled into his hand and gently swayed his body back an forth like a young child. "Sure, I don't see why not?"

"...O-oh." Blue coughed and straightened himself up; brushing his hair to the side and cooly looking away, although a small smile tugged at his lips to break through his casual exterior.

"...Thanks. Er, I mean...I'll...it's a date then! I guess I can...stick a note on Ethan or somethin' with the details and all." Blue smirked and began backing up and out there door, trying not to chuckle at his own stupid joke, but Red still giggled at it.

"What about Saturday, 8 o'clock at your place and you decide where we go?" Red tilted his head and held his hands behind his back, searching Blue's face for an answer.

Blue glanced up from behind his bangs and smiled a tiny bit, giving a light shrug. "Sure, yeah. I'll remember..." He scratched the back of his head one more time before giving Red a sweet look; his eyes were soft for once and his face relaxed. For once he didn't look so angry. His face was placid, his muscles didn't look to stressed. It was if staring at Red was the only thing giving him this sincerity. His body already halfway turned around to leave, Blue gave a final casual nod of his head towards Red, smirking.

"See ya."

The man left with a small strut in his step, his keys and chains dangling jingling in rhythm of his step with his jacket just slipping of his shoulders. Red blinked slowly and waved Blue goodbye with a shy grin before his fingers subconsciously began stroking at his bottom lip as he was left in a small daydream.

He didn't remember the drive home in the dark. His mind was somewhere else, but his body was left behind, indulged in the intoxicating numbness he felt ever since that goodbye. At the door of his apartment, Red took a time looking for his key under the flickering florescent hallway light and letting himself in before being greeted by the low dimmed ceiling light hung above the door's entrance, and Red's two pet cats who came sliding by his ankles.

It then hit him.

He has a date.

He hasn't had a date since college.

This would be his second date of his life.

He has a date.

"...Oh my goodness," Red inhaled and then slowly exhaled a dreamy sigh before sinking down against his apartment door, leaving himself, his bags and his cats in a small mess on the floor.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Either the shirt was too bright and stupid looking, or not fancy enough. They're just going to a bar, anyway. Nothing too special...except that this was the first date Blue has had in 10 years since the mother left and he kept being rejected by other women (and men, if he was feeling rebellious enough). He eventually gave up. The thing is, this is a date he actually wishes will go well... but this Red guy gave him a new confidence. His heart was pounding as he was pacing around his cluttered bedroom, in only boxers, trying to find something to wear, and grumbling all the while.

A few minutes after laying on his bed in defeat, he heard Ethan's bare feet pounding around outside his door. "Hey! Someone's at the door! Who's there?!"

Red swallowed as he once again smoothed out his blouse from stepping off the bus. He was wearing a silky plain white button down shirt, with complimentary maroon colored skinny jeans, topped off with red converse. He loved being casual like this and it made him feel more at ease, although he can admit he doesn't have the best fashion taste. All his work clothes look like they would be found in an elderly man's closet. Red only hoped that Blue wouldn't want to go somewhere fancy. But he had the feeling Blue didn't like fancy places so he wasn't that worried. With another deep inhale to calm his shallow breathing, he once again knocked on the front door, waiting for someone to open it, growing more anxious with every second it didn't open.

"Shit!" Blue swore and scrambled up from his bed, still naked with only his underpants on. "GET THAT, ETHAN! Shit, shit..." Blue dug through his closet in a panic and managed to throw together an outfit while Ethan bounced over to the front door, chewing on a chicken nugget he was having from a T.V dinner. He swung open the door, and with half a chicken nugget bitten between his teeth, he beamed.

"Mr. RED!" The boy threw his arms around his teacher for a big hug.

Red tossed his head back and laughed when the boy collided with him, hugging him back. "Hello, Ethan how are you?" He stroked Ethan's hair as he looked around to room, trying to search for a certain man without looking too on edge. He soon heard the sounds of a man cursing and banging being stifled by the door located down the hallway right by the front door. Red figured he couldn't find anything proper to wear either, poor man. Maybe he should help? "Ethan? Where is your daddy?"

Ethan didn't answer the question, though. Instead he stared up at Red with wide, curious eyes through the thick frames of his spectacles. "...Why are you here?"

Blue stumbled around him room, trying to pull his jeans up around his thighs while his comb was stuck in his knotted mop of hair.

"JUST A SECOND!" He shouted and wrapped a belt around his haste, fixed his blue sweatshirt over a crooked buttoned shirt and slipped on his shoes. "Fuck," He yanked the comb out to finish fixing his hair, took a deep breath as he looked at himself in the mirror, before spotting a small, tiny wallet sized photograph wedged in the between the mirror and the wood that surrounded it. It was old and stained with fingerprints that covered the two teenage couples shown. A large, rugged looking athlete man with a backwards hat and a painfully skinny woman with the man's hand visibly touching her rear. The smile on both their faces made Blue glower, but that didn't stop him from snatching the photo from the dresser and into his pocket before heading towards his bedroom door.

Blue paused as soon as his he cracked open the door, peeking to look at the little man talking to his son.

Red smiled uncertainly, his fingers nervously twirling Ethan's hair, which the boy seemed to enjoy. "I am going on a...uh...well, lets say , a small outing with your father." Red giggled at Ethan's surprised face. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he wont be away for long."

"Gross! Date" The boy stuck his tongue out at the idea and quickly turned his head to look at his TV tray with his juice and chicken nuggets. "Do you want some of my chicken?"

Red just stood there, mouth agape and stunned that Ethan figured it all out. "U-um, well...yes and it's sort of like a date?" Red shook his head and giggled. "No thank you Ethan, that's your food. You should finish it!"

Blue opened his bedroom door and peered out, smirking gently at the sight of Red, standing politely at the door.

"I can do this."

Blue stepped out and ran his fingers through his hair, smiling a lopsided smiled as he cautiously approached Red. "Um...hey."

Red giggled and then noticed Blue walking towards him. "Oh, good evening! I hope you're well?" He held out his hand for Blue to shake, which Blue took rather graciously.

"The evening just got better, yeah..." A bit smitten with Red, Blue found himself leaning in a bit too closely to him, which Red quickly took note of by giggling nervously and taking a step back before Blue swiftly turned around and bent down right in front of Ethan.

"You know the rules. No parties, no friends, no drinking, no smoking...no anything, got it?"

Frowning sternly, Ethan raised his hand in salute. "Yes, sir!"

Red laughed at Ethan's display and patted Blue on the back to reassure him. "Ethan's a good boy, Blue. I think he'll be fine!" Red snaked his arm around Blue's and pulled him towards the door. "Think we should get going?"

"Tch, he better be." Smirking, Blue walked Red to the front door. "Oh, and behave! Make sure you're in bed before I get back."

When Ethan hugged them both goodbye, the the pair left. They surprisingly walked comfortably arm in arm with each other down the pathway to Blue's beat up truck. Blue released Red's arm and walked over to the driver's side, grunting each time he tried to open the door.

"Stupid piece of-" He stopped suddenly when something he remembered hit him "Oh, right!" Blue quickly rushed back around the car and opened up the passenger side door more easily before Red approached it, holding it open for him with a crooked, awkward grin. "There you go"

Red blushed at Blue's courtesy. "Oh Blue, I could've open it myself!" Red giggled and breezily passed by the taller man, running a hand down the arm holding open the door before sitting down in his seat.

"But thank you anyway..." Red noticed Blue's flushed reaction before he erupted in more giggling. He really should stop giggling, but he couldn't help it.

"O-oh," Blue chuckled nervously and got into the driver's seat. "Yeah, yeah I knew..uh, sorry." He was a stupid, stuttering mess. How the hell is a date suppose to go? His palms were sweaty as he gripped the steering wheel before turning on the car and backed up. He even swerved when he noticed Red was glancing over at him. 'Fuck'

Red looked at him with a questionable look. "You okay, Blue? Should I drive? I mean, I've never driven a truck before but I can try!" Red grinned and stroked Blue's hand, the hand fiercely gripping the shift knob, to calm him down. For his second date in his lifetime, Red was feeling a bit bold this time, and probably had to thank all the romance movies he watched.

"NO! No, no...no, I got this!" He gripped the wheel more confidently, but the soothing stroking of Red's hand on his made it twitch, but eventually, he was able to calm himself down once they were on the highway.

"Sorry. Never really...learned how a normal date goes."

Red squirmed and shyly looked away. "That makes two of us...I just think up stuff as I go, I'm not a professional either. Let's just set on making fun okay?" Red smiled at Blue as he once again started to stroke the older man's fiddling hand and held it tight, hopefully to calm his nerves.

Blue's ears picked up on that first bit. "So..this is, uh...your first date ever?" Blue checked the rear view mirror and got off the exit leading to the next town.

Red nodded and looked away but eventually shrugged his shoulders, feeling ashamed to admit that little secret. "Yeah...well, sort of. I never was really into girls and guys always mistook me for a girl, or...just made fun of me. So I just didn't go out much...I only had this, I guess you could say...experiment in college with a guy, but it didn't mean anything for me." Over the course of speaking, Red had pulled his hand away from Blue's and played around with his thumbs on his lap.

Blue had to do a double take on the scene and chuckled, before turning his focus on the road in front of him. "Heh, same. Though I mostly went after girls, I had a thing for guys. I think my parents weren't listenin' when I told them I sometimes thought of boys and stuff. But then the kid's mother came along, and she was all over me." Blue took a swift turn into the parking lot of the bar and circled around for a space. "...But that time was short lived, as you can tell by my life now." He slowly moved into a spot and turned the car off.

Red listened closely to the small story Blue told him. He felt pity for the man; no wonder he was so sad all the time. Red gave a small smile, already making a promise to himself he would make up with Blue for the lost time. Then Red was hit with a curious question."Where are your parents now?"

"I don't know. Lost track of them after high school. Didn't want anything to do with me, vise versa." After a short sigh, Blue suddenly turned and grinned slightly at Red.

"Thirsty?" He jumped out of the truck, walked around it, and led Red out and down the parking lot to the bar, walking side by side. "...So, what are your parents like? Stupid? Awesome?"

Red held onto Blue's arm as he looked away, sadly. "My parents died in a car crash a few years ago, unfortunately..."

"Ahh." Blue bit his lip and glanced around, now feeling like an idiot because he brought that up. "Sorry. Didn't want to upset you."

Fortunately, Red was quick to perk up, looking alarmed. "No, no! It's alright! I've been doing better since then and it doesn't hurt as much anymore as it did at first. So I'm okay now! Don't worry about me." Red grinned at Blue and, taking a small risk, managed to rub his cheek against the older man's broad shoulder before peeking up through his eyelashes to see his reaction.

As Red expected and secretly hoped, the body he was gently clinging to instantly tensed up to the affectionate touch, but Blue managed to swallow away that lump and forced a smirk as they approached the door.

"I use to go here all the time. I hope they still remember my face." He opened the double glass door, held it open for Red who nodded his thanks, and stepped into a dimly lit pub with neon lights and exotic decorations hanging on the walls and off the ceilings, with light easy going music drifting in the background and many people laughing and sharing drinks together at the bar positioned at the front of the pub, and small booths fit for four scattered about the little establishment.

Red looked around in wonder. He had never really gone out before; at least as and adult in this way, and it was a nice change of what he would normally do on his Friday nights. The atmosphere felt really warm and comfy,and being here with Blue made everything better seem more welcoming. He allowed Blue to guide him to a table closest to the bar and sat down.

Blue called the waiter over and ordered them both something light to drink, and a bowl of chips, as well as a basket of shrimp that Red quickly pitched before the waiter left. As they waited, the older man started to nervously fiddle with his napkin due to the painfully awkward silence for him.

"So...when did you, uh...start becoming a teacher? Or, when you wanted to teach..?" 'Terrific starter...'

Red smiled gently looked around before answering, not sure where to start. "To be honest, I don't really know. I always wanted to have a job which had something to do with children. I wanted to help children and to make them ready for the future. So I thought the best way to achieve that was to become a teacher. When I was studying my mentor said I would have my best luck working as a special ED teacher because I was really talented with interacting with kids who had different disorders. So, I did an extra course for that. And then soon after I got my diploma, I went job hunting and, well... I eventually landed a job in this school. I only got my diploma 2 years ago, actually!" Red laughed and took a sip from his drink, which were dropped off with the snacks sometime during Red's story.

Blue had his head prompted up by his hand and his cheek resting in his palm as he listened to Red and found himself stuck in a daze while examining his face as he talked. The way he slightly smiled when bringing up the children, and how his eyes softened and then closed when he described his experience at school and then quickly brightened up...

Realizing he was staring after Red had finished a few seconds earlier, Blue cleared his throat, shaking his head so he cold re gather his thoughts after Red had snicked. "Sorry...got distracted...but that's great! Your teaching, I mean," he smirked and picked at the chips in the basket next to him. "...My son always talks about you."

Red blushed when he noticed Blue was staring at him. He listened to Blue's comment and then felt his cheeks warm up even more. "Y-Yeah, I really like Ethan. He's a smart kid..." Red softly smiled as he thought about the boy who could be very shy, yet surprisingly hilarious when you get to know him. "I like all the kids in my class, including Ethan. They are all so nice and I really like how they progress and it makes me feel so proud for them. Especially with Ethan's math! He has improved so much. He's a fast learner!" Red laughed and held his hand in front of his mouth to keep it muffled.

Blue's smile faltered when he heard Red's high praising, a bit of guilt creeping into the pit of his stomach. "Hmph, yeah...didn't know he was struggling with math...didn't know he was uncomfortable around the other kids, either."

Red looked at Blue in understanding. "You don't have to feel guilty. I understand its hard living like this and how hard it can be with a son who has a disorder. But like I said before you are not too late!"

Red giggled and then took a shrimp, popping it in his mouth. "So tell me..." He spoke more lowly, swallowing the shrimp. "What did you do again for a living? I think Ethan mentioned something once but I am not too entirely sure..."

Blue smiled gently and lazily shrugged his shoulders, his finger tips playing with the chips in the bowl. "Auto repair shop. Never went to college, but was still interested in it and got the best position I could get. One positive thing in life, but I wish it was just a little bit better..." He frowned slightly and finally ate a handful of chips. "But I really wanted to be a basketball star when I was in middle school and high school...went incredibly far with that, huh." Even with his depressing story, Blue still managed to crack a smile and poke fun at himself just to keep Red from feeling too depressed.

Red listened with big interest to the man, nodding in a few places. He shook is head in worry. "Well, at least you got a good job to pay right? That should be good enough..." Red offered a shy smiled, but slowly, he frowned with curiosity

"Do you still play basketball?" He asked, hoping Blue would perk up some.

Blue shrugged again, still unfazed. "I try, but our backyard is in...no condition. Same with the hoop. And I don't have time to go to a public court." Blue began smiling as he began to zone out, thinking out loud. "I wish I could teach Ethan how to play but, uh...I never knew if he could...in his condition. I don't know much about what he can and can't do." He glowered, getting mad with himself.

"To be fair..." Red started and took a sip of his drink again, finishing his glass. "Exercise is actually recommended, because it can help blow off steam and it can be an outlet! So he can do a lot, actually! The only thing he might have problems with is that he needs to learn how to lose and not throw a fit, but that can be controlled. I would love to help to tidy up your backyard if you want!"

Blue quickly batted his hand away to dismiss Red's offer as he took a big sip of his alcohol. "No no, I don't want to put you through that. You shouldn't clean my own property, it's not right..It's fine, but if you could," Blue's eyes darted everywhere but Red's questionable face,"...I dunno, come and visit regularly to be with him as he plays..." Blue trailed off while he traced the water rings on the table with his finger.

Red looked away in embarrassment. "I don't mind to help with the cleaning. But of course I will come and watch you both play! I would like to see how you play as well!" Red smiled as he tried to make eye contact with the taller man.

Blue took a small sip of his beer and peered up at Red, eyes locking, and he remained still. A subconscious smile spread out on his lips as he fisted his hand with a napkin that rested on the table near Red's folded hands.

He wanted to go further...but he didn't know how.

"...Do you wanna go to a basketball court now?" Blue blurted suddenly and waited on the edge of his seat for Red's reaction.

Red looked at him, caught by surprise, but then blushed as he grew skiddish. "I would love too..." Red quickly stood up to grab his coat, motioning Blue to get up as well.

Actually shocked by Red's agreement, Blue immediately grinned and hopped up from his seat, throwing their cash on the table and escorting Red out. "I know a good place up the block...I always pass it on my way to work, but I never went in there."

Red stared at Blue for his forwardness and then giggled. "Okay, show me the place. Maybe we can play a game together?" Red laughed and held Blue's hand tightly as they made their way over to the truck.

Raising an eyebrow, Blue playfully pushed Red in the shoulder. "Do you even know how to play? Don't teachers watch the kids play at recess?" He smirked and led Red to the car, and once they stepped in, opened the sun roof to reveal the darkening twilight sky, the stars just becoming visible as the clouds started to disperse across the horizon.

"First off, I work in a _high school_. They don't have recess." Red chuckled and shook his head in mockery. "Do not forget, I was a child once too, Blue!"

Blue smiled wide. He turned the car on and pulled out of the parking lot, heading down the nearly empty road and letting all the windows roll down, the cool nighttime air wafting in. "I don't remember the last time I was out doin' shit like this." Blue smirked and shared a glance with Red.

Red looked back at Blue and with a small smile. "There is a first time for everything, even after so many years..." Red shifted his hand towards Blue's right one, which remained on the shift knob, and softly stroked it like he did before, watching intently for Blue's reaction.

He curled his fingers around the soft hand, and after a few seconds of battling the idea in his head, his cheeks flaring up, Blue ignored his fears, lifted Red's hand and pressed his lips to the back of it, catching a glimpse of Red through his swift bangs before turning his attention back on the road, eventually pulling to an open spot right outside of the closed basketball court.

Red's face exploded with a bright crimson color while his mouth went dry right after that kiss, leaving him to turn his head away and look out the open window in embarrassment. 'Oh my gosh, I can't make it through the night...'

Noticing they were stopping at the court, he politely rolled up the windows and slipped out, following Blue's lead.

"Open from 9am-7pm weekends," Blue read the sign hanging on the fence out loud but in a low mumble, then jumping up on the bench that was outside the gate.

"Not tonight."

He extended his hand down towards Red to lift him up on the bench. "Think you can climb up?" Blue asked, tilting his head at the gate beside them, but before Red answered, Blue was already clutching onto the fence, fingers perfectly laced with the wiring, and hoisted himself up, until he reached the top and sat there, glancing down at Red with a sly smirk.

Red stared at him with wide eyes, thinking, asking himself if this was such a good idea or not. He glanced nervously at the fence, then checked his surroundings. Though he couldn't see well through the darkness, the street lights helped define some shadowy figures; none of them were people. In the end Red decided it didn't really matter anymore and with a small smile, attempted to climb the fence, struggling more than his date, but found himself sitting next to Blue on top of the fence.

Once Red settled himself on the top, Blue swung his legs over, pushed himself off and landed on the other side of the fence flat on his feet, chuckling to himself and turned around with his arms outstretched, ready to catch. "Your turn."

Red groaned before brushing his hair aside and jumped down, hoping he wouldn't squish Blue, or wouldn't fall hard on his bottom. "Eek!"

Blue caught the young man in his arms, but stumbled back a bit, even though he tried to stay balance on his feet. "I gotcha, don't worry." He laughed lightly and slowly set Red down, but slowly dropped the arms once holding Red around the shoulders, down to the slim waist; his eyes lowering as they gazed down at him.

"You look really great tonight..."

Red's eyes locked with Blue's as the heat in his cheeks intensified. Licking his dry lips, he murmured. "Thank you..." His hands tightened their fisting grip on the front of Blue's jacket as he could feel himself subconsciously getting closer to the larger body. Blue gulped and he smiled awkwardly and slowly dipped his head but only to press their foreheads together, feeling the air between their faces get warmer. "Better...better make sure the basketballs are here, huh?" the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. At this point, anything he said wouldn't ruin these moments

Red's giggle was shallow as his hands trailed up those arms, carefully slipping them around Blue's neck. His face got warmer as he felt Blue's breath touch his nose, and his lips and his cheeks."Hmmmmm?" Red smiled lazily; he was hypnotized by the little details of the face in front of his that he couldn't even put together a proper thought or sentence.

Blue smirked as a tease and pulled himself away from Red, and jogged over to the storage hut where all the supplies were kept. Unfortunately, it was locked, but he managed to find a couple of stray basketballs lying around the back.

"Here, catch!" Blue tossed a ball to Red and began dribbling his own. "You should at least know how to dribble" He smirked again, only to get a little rise out of the tiny man.

Red pouted at Blue's remark as he caught the ball, barely. "O-Of course!" He clumsily dribbled the ball towards the hoop and threw it in the most awkward position Blue could imagine, missing it entirely.

"..It's been a long time..."

Blue began snickering and tossed the ball in the air, not surprised when it swiftly went 'swoosh' right through the net. Giving himself a fist pump, he waltzed over to Red and gave him his ball back after he retrieved them from the hoop's base. "Nice try. But don't too much force into it, 'kay? And pick a more comfortable stance."

Red pouted and listened to Blue's instruction and tried again, determined. Though he missed, it wasn't that far off than last time, and it even touched the hoop before it bounced off into a different direction. "A-Almost!" Red gasped as he looked at Blue for approval.

"Heh, nice.." Blue gave himself another shot and yet again, it bounced off the back and into the net. Again and again he would race around the court, dribbling back and forth, spin around on his balls of his feet and swish that ball through the hoop most of the time, again and clapped each and every time Blue got the shot. "Wow, you are really good at this! Not that I was expecting a bad performance!" He laughed.

After a few minutes of practicing, and trying to impress Red, his face had beads of sweat slowly rolling down his forehead and temples. He almost went limp trying to shake off his jacket while attempting to catch his breath when leaning against the fence for support. Red himself had his blouse buttons un done after running around for a few minutes trying to keep up with Blue, and now exposed a pink shirt which he wore underneath.

Blue wiped his forehead with his forearm and slumped over to Red, chest heaving in his white wife-beater, and hair sticking to his damp face. "You actually...improved tonight." He smiled weakly. "Quick learner."

Red looked away in embarrassment from the unnecessary praise he received, twirling a piece of his hair around his finger, his body leaned against the fence and right under the streetlight. "Thank you..." He smiled at Blue and winked then. "I had a good teacher..."

"Really?" Blue shifted so he was leaning against the fence on his side, towering over Red with an arm propped above his head and the other hand pressed against his hip, the basketball wedged underneath that arm.

"Good enough...maybe to work at the school?" The smug smile on his face remained there as his eyes were fixated with Red's steadily panting lips.

Red nodded in enthusiasm. "I think you would be allowed, in no time! Although you would have to go to school for it for many years...but you have a lot of talent...!" Red shuffled closer towards Blue and stood right next to him with the basketball he clutched to his stomach, trying to keep his eyes from wondering around Blue's body too much, at least enough to make him notice. "Yeah... a lot of talent." He choked and quickly bit his lip.

"Yeah..?" Blue's hand reached over and rested on Red's hip, pulling him in a few steps closer, resulting in Red's heart jumping in his throat due to the closing in contact. His eyes were half lidded and his breath was calm; voice was down to an almost inaudible rumble. "I'm sure I have lots more talent...for other things."

Red's own breathing was becoming too unsteady for his liking, Blue's hot breath right on his lips didn't help him, but he slowly trailed his fingers up Blue's chest again until they remained palm face down on Blue's thundering heart. "You got more talent..for things?" One of Blue's hands came up and touched Red's hands with the tips of his fingers, Red noticing the permanent tar stains underneath the man's fingernails, but he didn't mind at all.

Blue barely smirked, he felt too weak. He was too enticed in Red's features. He bit his lip and leaned in closer; his fingers softly digging into Red's hip and pulling it against his own, in a strong, demanding embrace. "If you want," he pressed their noses together and closed his eyes, "I can show you."

Red's arms wrapped around Blue's neck again as his breath hitched in anticipation, his stomach fluttered with butterflies.

"Show me, please?"

Blue didn't respond. Very swiftly, what seemed like slow motion to Red, Blue's hand that rested on Red's hip slid itself around his thin waist and pushed Red upwards into a soft, demanding kiss- one that left both of them overwhelmed with emotion and loosing their grip on the basketballs that quietly dribbled away into the dark court.

Red's breath was taken away as he felt Blue's lips crash softly on his own. His body was growing numb with the pleasure, but not before it sent a serious shiver coursing through his body, leaving it tingling from head to toe. Soon he needed to let Blue go, but right now, this kiss was the only thing that mattered.

It fell silent around the two for those long seconds; their lips moved so in sync, they were soft when they were pressed up against each other after being parted for a brief second before they were pressed together again for another passionate fight for dominance. After hearing Red's light moan in the kiss, Blue finished off with a swift sweep of his tongue across the younger man's slightly parted pink, swollen lips and barely broke away, but enough to press their foreheads together and stare into the others eyes.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you the first time I saw you," Blue sighed, "...didn't know you'd be the kindest person I'd ever meet."

Red game him a soft, kind smile and gave him a sympathetic peck on his bottom lip. "It's okay...It's in the past now, don't worry about it." He whispered, his hands going towards Blue's hair, gently pulling the dark strands between his fingers.

Blue leaned in again for a couple more playful pecks on Red's puckered lips, his eyes contently closed the whole time, his hands carefully cupping the blonde's cheeks between his rough hands...until his watched beeped. It read 9:00 and he groaned. "Great..."

Red giggled and stroked Blue's cheek, cheering him up.

"Come on, we gotta go home before Ethan decides to wreck the place." Blue smiled at Red's efforts for teasing, and giving him one last kiss, right on the cheek, the two of them walked hand in hand and jumped back over the fence and called it a night.

**A/N: THAT WAS THE CORNIEST, GAYEST PIECE OF TRASH WE EVER WROTE AND I (personally) ENJOYED EVER SINGLE MINUTE OF IT MUAHAHAHAHAH**

**...btw, thanks to all those who have reviewed uvu 3 ya'll the bomb diggity**


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